Interest Groups
Special Interest Groups are geared towards specific medical specialties and provide extra information in the form of activities, speakers, and events.
Community Interest Groups provide students with opportunities to take part in community service and outreach initiatives.
The Aesculapian Society offers numerous interest groups for its members. Each interest group is overseen by its executive members, whom all report to the Vice-President of Community Health.
Interest groups are student-run groups that function as an integral part of campus life by providing students with extra education and opportunities, which include but are not limited to career talks, skill building activities, and volunteering opportunities. Interest groups play an important role in contributing to the intellectual, political, social, and cultural diversity of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Ottawa.
Interest groups are categorized based on their purpose. Special Interest Groups are geared towards specific medical specialties and cater to the interests of medical students by providing extra information in the form of activities, speakers, and events. Community Interest Groups provide students with opportunities to take part in community service opportunities. Generally, greater than 50% of this group’s CV hours must be obtained through community service.
Generally, medical students are not required to sign up to participate in events hosted by interest groups. You can simply consult the calendar and attend the events that are of interest to you. If you want to get involved in leadership positions after your first year of medical school, you can apply to become an executive member for your favourite interest groups in the spring. However, keep in mind that a student can be an executive on no more than two interest groups.
In order to obtain official interest group status for the upcoming academic year, all returning interest groups must apply for approval prior to each academic year. Should you wish to renew your interest group, you must apply by completing the Interest Group Proposal form. This form will be sent out by the Vice-President of Community Health prior to the start of each academic year.
The Interest Group Proposal form will contain the following required sections, as well as any additional information deemed necessary by the Vice-President of Community Health:
- Description of the group
- Specific goals and planned activities
- Record of CV hours given last year
- Executive members (maximum of four per group)
In addition to the previous requirements, please keep the following in mind before requesting renewal. Every group must have a faculty advisor, and this advisor must have official faculty status with the University of Ottawa. This advisor must be made aware of and approve all events put on by their group. Every group must have a minimum of one group executive for the term, and a maximum of four executives, of which at least two executives must be in second year. Every group must put on a minimum of 10 hours worth of events per academic year.
There will be a maximum of thirty Special Interest Groups in a given year and an unlimited number of Community Interest Groups, provided the group application is approved. All interest group proposals will be reviewed by the Interest Group Selection Committee comprised of the Vice-President of Community Health, Vice-President of Academic Affairs, Junior Vice-President of Finances, Senior Vice-President of Finances, Executive Vice-President, the clerkship assistant at the Medical Education Office, and the Associate Dean of the Faculty of Medicine.
The Aesculapian Society encourages all students with the desire to create a new group to do so. Should you wish to create an interest group, you must apply by filling out the Interest Group Proposal form. This form is sent out to all medical students by the Vice-President of Community Health prior to the start of each academic year.
The Interest Group Proposal form will contain the following required sections, as well as any additional information deemed necessary by the Vice-President of Community Health:
- Description of the group
- Specific goals and planned activities
- Executive members (maximum of four per group)
In addition to the previous requirements, please keep the following in mind before requesting to create an interest group. Every group must have a faculty advisor, and this advisor must have official faculty status with the University of Ottawa. This advisor must be made aware of and approve all events put on by their group. Every group must have a minimum of one group executive for the term, and a maximum of four executives, of which at least two executives must be in second year. Every group must put on a minimum of 10 hours worth of events per academic year.
There will be a maximum of thirty Special Interest Groups in a given year and an unlimited number of Community Interest Groups, provided the group application is approved. All interest group proposals will be reviewed by the Interest Group Selection Committee comprised of the Vice-President of Community Health, Vice-President of Academic Affairs, Junior Vice-President of Finances, Senior Vice-President of Finances, Executive Vice-President, the clerkship assistant at the Medical Education Office, and the Associate Dean of the Faculty of Medicine.
The budget request must outline specifically what the requested money is expected to be spent on. Within this section a group must also indicate whether they will be receiving any external funding outside of the expected Aesculapian society funding and where those funds will be coming from.
The budget for all interest groups will be allocated as fairly as possible to ensure all reasonable requests for funds are taken into account. The draft of the budget (additive budget from all groups) will be brought forth to the Aesculapian Society and voted on by all voting members. As soon as the budget is passed, the Vice-President of Community Health will notify group executives of their finalized budget.
Reimbursement Submission
All expenses must be submitted within 30 days of purchase. A confirmation will be sent to the email provided when your request has been processed and your cheque is ready for pickup.
Please address any questions to the Junior Vice-President of Finance.